Eight fun facts about email firsts

Who invented email?

Raymond Tomlinson, a computer programmer, is known as the creator of modern email. In 1971¬ (over 50 years ago!) he created an electronic mail system on ARPANET, the predecessor of the internet. He also chose to use the “@” symbol in email addresses so that people could send messages to specific usernames on specific domains. Tomlinson’s invention changed the world forever. He was inducted into the Internet Hall of Fame in 2012.

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When was the first email sent, and what was the first email message?

The first email was sent in 1971, the same year it was invented. Tomlinson sent the first email to himself, and you’ll be surprised at how underwhelming it was. Tomlinson claims his first email said something along the lines of “QWERTYUIOP,” which is the first line of letters on a keyboard.¹

When was the first spam email sent?

You probably receive dozens of spam emails each week. When you receive an unsolicited email, it’s known as spam. Spam email actually has a rich history. The first spam message email was sent in 1978. A marketing manager named Gary Thuerk was working for a computer company when he decided to send out an email advertising a new computer model that his company created. He became known as the father of spam and made the company a whopping $13 million dollars in sales from his spam email.

What was the first commercial email client?

The first commercial email client was MSMail. This email provider was created by Microsoft in 1988 and has since been replaced by Outlook. Another popular, commercially available email service was Hotmail, which was created in 1996 and was eventually purchased by Microsoft in 1997. Hotmail was phased out in 2011. If you had a Hotmail account, you can still access your email through Outlook.

When was the first email sent from space?

The first email was sent from space in 1991, 20 years after its invention. It was sent from the NASA space shuttle, the Atlantis, and was written by astronauts Shannon Lucid and James C. Adamson. The message was sent to Marcia Ivans, who was at a space center in Houston. The first email from space read, “Hello Earth! Greetings from the STS-43 Crew. This is the first AppleLink from space. Having a GREAT time, wish you were here,…send cryo and RCS! Hasta la vista, baby,…we’ll be back!”²

Who was the first U.S. president to use email?

The first U.S. president to have a public email address was President Bill Clinton in 1993.³ However, he wasn’t known to use it often¬¬—Clinton stated he only sent two emails as president. One of the emails he sent was to Senator John Glenn when he was in outer space on a NASA mission.

When was webmail invented?

Webmail is email that you can access from your browser. For example, instead of using the Outlook app on your desktop, you can use Outlook’s webmail service via Outlook.com. Webmail was invented in 1993, but it didn’t become popular until the mid-90s. Hotmail was one of the first popular (and free!) webmail services. Webmail makes it easier for people to check their email, no matter where they are in the world.

When did cell phones start using email?

You probably check your email on your cell phone frequently—maybe even more than on your computer. The first cell phone with email capabilities was the IBM Simon. The cell phone was released in 1993 and included a calculator, fax service, notepad, calendar, and address book. Some consider it the first smartphone, although the term “smartphone” wasn’t coined until 1997.

BlackBerry made emailing via cell phone even more popular. In 2002, the company released the BlackBerry 5810, a smartphone that could send and receive emails. At first, it was mostly used by businesspeople, and later it became a popular consumer device.

Now that you know a little more about monumental email moments, learn how encrypted email can protect your privacy.

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